1996 Pro Tour Dallas/Masters decks
| Pro Tour Dallas | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Date | 22–24 November 1996 | ||||
| Location | Dallas, United States | ||||
| Attendance |
Masters:240 players Juniors:151 players Classic: 95 players | ||||
| Format |
Standard (Type II) Classic (Type I) | ||||
| Prize pool |
Masters: $150,000 Juniors: $60,000 (Scholarships) Classic: $40,000 | ||||
| Winner |
Masters:  Paul McCabeJuniors:  Justin SchneiderClassic: Scott Johns | ||||
| 1996–97 Pro Tour Season | |||||
| |||||
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The following decks were played in the Masters Division of Dallas. There were three Necropotence decks and two Winter Orb Prison decks in the Top 8: these were the dominant archetypes of the tournament. The remaining decks on the final day were two aggressive creature decks, one black and one white, and a Blue Red "Counter-Burn" strategy.
While people did play Sligh, or decks built around untargetable Green creatures like Jolrael's Centaur, these weren't as successful in the Masters as they were in the Junior Division.
Top 8 decks
Paul McCabe
Masters Champion Paul McCabe played a monoblack Necropotence deck.[1]
Jason Zila
Runner-up Jason Zila played a 
Prison deck.[2]
Brian Hacker
Semifinalist Brian Hacker was undefeated in the Swiss playing a monoblack aggro deck.[3]
Chris Pikula
Chris Pikula played a 
Necropotence deck.[4] Worth Wollpert also played the same list to a Top 16 finish.[5]
George Baxter
George Baxter was one of "Team Dallas" who played a monowhite Prison deck they called "White Trash".[6] Junior division finalist Jeremy Baca was also part of this team.
Robert Thornburg
Robert Thornburg played a monoblack "Speed" deck. It didn't include any copies of Necroptoence.[7]
Peer Kröger
Peer Kröger played a White Weenie deck.
Instants (4)
Olle Råde
| “ | Rade's deck was a very straightforward design which created a creature-hostile environment with Nevinyrral's Disk, red direct damage, and Control Magic. His only concession to the popular black and white designs of the era was a single Balance, supported by his four Cities of Brass. Against these decks, he eliminated all of their threats, held off game-breakers with a respectable permission base, and then went for the kill by bonking the opponent on the head repeatedly with Hammer of Bogardan or simply Torched them out with one of his four Fireballs.[9] | ” |
Other decks
Peter Radonjic
Peter Radonjic finished 10th playing a Necropotence deck.[10]
Joseph Tan
Australian National Champion Joseph Tan finished 11th playing "Budgee": a 
deck he built the day before the event to attack the expected metagame. The deck's namesake was the two copies of Birds of Paradise.[11]
Stefano Genestreti
Italian Stefano Genestreti had qualified for the Pro Tour with a monored Sligh/Geeba deck, but in Dallas decided to add a green splash.[12] He finished outside the Top 64 with a 5-4 record.
- Notes
- In Stefano's tournament report he writes "3 Artillery/Cannoneers" - Orcish Artilery and Orcish Cannoneers are functional reprints which were both legal in Standard.
- Incinerate is given as 2-3 copies, but as he says he played 61 cards it must have been 3 copies.
- Hammer of Bogardan was a last minute addition, the 4th Incinerate was removed for it.
- The Italians didn't expect much Necropotance so his sideboard focused on fighting Prison.
References
- ↑ MTG Top 8 (2025). "Pro Tour Dallas 1996 #1 Necro Control - Paul McCabe (website)". MTG Top 8. Retrieved on September 26, 2025.
- ↑ JasonVorthos (June 25, 2023). "George Baxter & Jason Zila Orb Prison (WU Control Mill) - Top 8 Pro Tour Dallas 1996 (website)". MTG Goldfish. Retrieved on September 27, 2025.
- ↑ MTG Top 8 (2025). "Pro Tour Dallas 1996 #3-4 Black Aggro - Brian Hacker (website)". MTG Top 8. Retrieved on September 26, 2025.
- ↑ MTG Top 8 (2025). "Pro Tour Dallas 1996 #3-4 Hybrid Necro (Pikulapotence) - Chris Pikula (website)". MTG Top 8. Retrieved on September 26, 2025.
- ↑ Mike Flores (September 1, 1999). "Building Broken Decks volume II: Templating, etc. (website)". Star City Games. Retrieved on September 27, 2025.
- ↑ Mike Flores (26 February 1997). "November Type II Metagame (long) (Usenet post)". Newgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy. Usenet. Retrieved on September 22, 2025.
- ↑ Robert Thornburg (November 25, 1996). "PT DALLAS: Necro Forever (Usenet post)". Newsgroup:rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy. Usenet. Retrieved on September 27, 2025.
- ↑ MTG Top 8 (2025). "Pro Tour Dallas 1996 #5-8 Counter-Hammer - Olle Råde (website)". MTG Top 8. Retrieved on September 26, 2025.
- ↑ Mike Flores (1998). "Part I: THE BIRTH OF MODERN U/R, PRO TOUR DALLAS 1996 (Usenet Post)". History of U/R in T2, Nov '96 - Mar '98. The Dojo. Archived from the original on March 10, 2000. Retrieved on September 27, 2025.
- ↑ Peter Radonjic (February 1997). "Preparing For Dallas (pdf)". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on October 3, 2025.
- ↑ Joseph Tan (November 29, 1996). "Dallas n Me (text)". The Dojo. Retrieved on September 11, 2025.
- ↑ Stefano Genestreti (November 26, 1996). "Subject: Re: Congrats (USenet post)". The Dojo. Retrieved on September 27, 2025.